Planning your visit

You will probably want to stay longer in our historic town of Riverton Aparima to fully appreciate the beauty and relaxed vibe of the "riviera of the south".

Our township has a small supermarket/post shop, butchers, fish supplies, hardware store, stationary shop, organic store/environment centre, op shop, and numerous craft stores.​ We also have a few pubs/restaurants and cafes. There is one ATM and bank branch (ANZ), pharmacy, medical centre, and public library with free WIFI. There are two petrol stations/service centres. We also have a swimming pool (limited hours summer only), and rowing club with gym.

In addition to our museum, other things to do in the area include numerous walks in Mores Reserve or the nearby Longwoods (Long Hilly track is part of Te Araroa walkway), or walks along the coast - of particular interest to those intrigued by our geology (ask us about tours).

There are a couple of local surf spots, opportunities to hire boards or even take a surfing lesson. For coastal stop information, we recommend the Southern Scenic Route brochure.

Our landscape provides wonderful opportunities for wildlife and landscape photography, and our estuary even gets the occasional visit from dolphins.

While we don't have hotels or motels, there are motel type units or apartments, and B&B's. There are also low budget backpackers, and a campground.

facilities

The following contact details are for services/facilities we frequently get asked about (it is not a full directory of all our facilities, most others you will find on a google search), these are provided to help you plan your stay.

In addition to commercial accommodation, there are two places for campervans who are motorhome association members to stay: the Racecourse and RSA car park. The nearest freedom camping sites are Colac Bay on the way to Fiordland, or Thornbury on the way to Invercargill - click here for maps.

Feel free to contact us here at the museum/information centre to arrange your accommodation or if any contact details below are out of date.